Where does “でも” come from?

でも (Japanese) comes from Japanese で, from Japanese ぜ, from Japanese ぞえ, from Japanese え, from Middle Chinese 衣.

でも (Japanese): even; also in; but, however

Definitions

  1. even; also in; but, however

Ancestry of “でも”, step by step

でも traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese で

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseでat; with, by, using; indicating the following...
2Japaneseぜsentence-ending particle signifying emphasis,...
3Japaneseぞえ­ sentence-ending particle signifying emphasis, used to lightly press one's point, with affectionate overtones
4JapaneseえAlternative form of い
5Middle Chinese衣—

via Japanese も

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseもUsed to form the conjectural form of verbs,...
2Old Japaneseもnon-unique topic marker: also, even
3Proto-Japonicmənon-unique topic marker: also, even, too, as well
4Arabicمَنwho?; who

Words derived from “でも”

Every word from Middle Chinese 衣 →Every word from Japanese え →Every word from Japanese ぞえ →